Tom Rogers, Australian Electoral Commissioner, delivers the 25th Annual Geoffrey Sawer Lecture: The curse of the sausage: laws, expectation and complexity in modern elections.

Two trends have been taking place in Western and Western-oriented jurisdictions over the past few decades. On the one hand, law has beeen significantly expanding and intensifying its regulatory reach. On the other, law schools and the legal professions have been undergoing an acute crisis. At first glance, these two trends may seem incompatible. For one may be puzzled by the fact that while law, as a governing institution, is thriving, the very places where future legal professionals are formed and those places where it is practised are suffering.